Stephen "My Bottom Is a Treasure Trove" Fry
Matthew shamed me today into realizing that I have not been posting of late. This is due to several reasons- I have shifted into the frame of mind that says if I am not working, I have no business posting piffle on the internet, but also because I feel as though there's not that much to say? There is certainly much to be done. I have a week to write 30 pages of final exams, I have my prospectus defense on Tuesday (OH YAY.), I have 85 final exams to grade come Thursday, Christmas concerts to sing tomorrow, and parties GALORE to attend (and give!) before I drove home to Louisiana next next Monday.
IN THE MEANTIME, I have been watching hours and hours of glorious QI. I have come to realize that many of my friends have no idea what I'm talking about when I natter on about its wonders, or possibly just don't Get It.
WELL.
WONDER NO MORE.
ESSENTIALLY, this is how it works.
Stephen Fry is the host of a game show- QI ("Quite Interesting"). The game show is highly unusual, in that the contestants are not intended to know ANY of the answers to the questions that are asked of them. It is very exciting when someone does, of course, but it's unusual. The contestants are leading British comedians, with Alan Davies always among their number, sitting at Stephen's right hand and always saying the wrong thing. BECAUSE, you see, the format of the show works like this- since no one knows the answer, points are given for being clever, or witty, or knowing interesting TANGENTIAL facts, but points are taken away when the obvious jokes are made, or the answer is what common knowledge would suggest. In fact, common knowledge tends to be WRONG- the final round of General Ignorance is dedicated to questions like How many states are there in the US? (several states are not OFFICIALLY called states- the Commonwealth of Virginia, for example, and there are a few others).
So that's the general idea- 4 contestants, Stephen Fry, and a lot of very random and fascinating knowledge flies around, interspersed with hilarity.
Now, a year or so ago, you could have found every episode on youtube, but a great purging occurred, and most of the episodes were taken down. Luckily, several choice bits of silliness remain!
Here are a smattering of my favorites, but I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE everyone who knows the show to answer with their own youtube'd treasures in the comments.
I find this one to be a great example of how things typically work on QI- strange facts, silly answers, and Alan making up absurd stories:
It's also fun to know that they change the buzzer noises for each contestant in each episode along the theme for that night. The first three contestants have clever ones, and then Alan gets a silly one. This is long, as it has all of the buzzers of the entire C series, but it'll give you the idea.
This is where I get ALL OF MY JOKES:
One with KNOWLEDGE!
A wonderful tangent on the word Obscurity:
I do like because of Stephen's dismay at the 'biggest drip' illustration:
I quite like the silliness they get up to here, however brief:
I love this for John Sessions' AMAZING Alan Rickman impression:
I love it when they take the piss out of Stephen:
SO THEY MUST GO TO SCHOOL, IT's JUST RIDICULOUS.
Oh Stephen Fry. You are my favorite. QI started airing in 2003 during my semester at King's (along with the first series of the TV version of 'Absolute Power'), so it was like the universe JUST KNEW I needed more Fry in my life. I got to see every episode, ending with the first Christmas special on the week I had to fly home. I love it MADLY, as you can probably tell. :)
IN THE MEANTIME, I have been watching hours and hours of glorious QI. I have come to realize that many of my friends have no idea what I'm talking about when I natter on about its wonders, or possibly just don't Get It.
WELL.
WONDER NO MORE.
ESSENTIALLY, this is how it works.
Stephen Fry is the host of a game show- QI ("Quite Interesting"). The game show is highly unusual, in that the contestants are not intended to know ANY of the answers to the questions that are asked of them. It is very exciting when someone does, of course, but it's unusual. The contestants are leading British comedians, with Alan Davies always among their number, sitting at Stephen's right hand and always saying the wrong thing. BECAUSE, you see, the format of the show works like this- since no one knows the answer, points are given for being clever, or witty, or knowing interesting TANGENTIAL facts, but points are taken away when the obvious jokes are made, or the answer is what common knowledge would suggest. In fact, common knowledge tends to be WRONG- the final round of General Ignorance is dedicated to questions like How many states are there in the US? (several states are not OFFICIALLY called states- the Commonwealth of Virginia, for example, and there are a few others).
So that's the general idea- 4 contestants, Stephen Fry, and a lot of very random and fascinating knowledge flies around, interspersed with hilarity.
Now, a year or so ago, you could have found every episode on youtube, but a great purging occurred, and most of the episodes were taken down. Luckily, several choice bits of silliness remain!
Here are a smattering of my favorites, but I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE everyone who knows the show to answer with their own youtube'd treasures in the comments.
I find this one to be a great example of how things typically work on QI- strange facts, silly answers, and Alan making up absurd stories:
Click to viewIt's also fun to know that they change the buzzer noises for each contestant in each episode along the theme for that night. The first three contestants have clever ones, and then Alan gets a silly one. This is long, as it has all of the buzzers of the entire C series, but it'll give you the idea.
This is where I get ALL OF MY JOKES:
One with KNOWLEDGE!
A wonderful tangent on the word Obscurity:
I do like because of Stephen's dismay at the 'biggest drip' illustration:
I quite like the silliness they get up to here, however brief:
I love this for John Sessions' AMAZING Alan Rickman impression:
I love it when they take the piss out of Stephen:
SO THEY MUST GO TO SCHOOL, IT's JUST RIDICULOUS.
Oh Stephen Fry. You are my favorite. QI started airing in 2003 during my semester at King's (along with the first series of the TV version of 'Absolute Power'), so it was like the universe JUST KNEW I needed more Fry in my life. I got to see every episode, ending with the first Christmas special on the week I had to fly home. I love it MADLY, as you can probably tell. :)